REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team nearly pulled off their fifth straight win and their fourth over a ranked opponent Saturday afternoon getting edged 82-79 to No. 9 New York University. 
 
The Bulldogs see their winning streak come to a close as they move to 4-1, while New York University improves to 5-1. 
 
Redlands led by eight, 72-64 with just under five minutes to play in the game and then by seven with just under three minutes remaining, but could not secure the upset as NYU would go on a 9-1 run, getting the go-ahead jumper to land with :46 seconds on the clock.  Kendrick Currey (Manteca, CA) would knock down a pair of free-throws to cut the deficit to one at 80-79, but it would not be enough as the Violets would escape with the win and the sweep in Southern California. 
 
For the game there were two ties and eight lead changes as the match-up remained tight throughout.  A three-pointer from Lucas Gordon (San Marcos, CA) and a layin by Cameron Brown (Bakersfield, CA) at the 13:26 mark would put UR on top 16-12.  Soon after NYU would use eight unanswered to go in front swinging the momentum 25-18.  Khyree Armstead (Mountlake Terrace, WA) would stop the run with a three himself with 7:24 left and he would be followed by a Currey triple and a layin by Pharaoh Amadi (Dallas, TX) as the deficit remained three, 29-26. 
 
Back-to-back triples from Brown would make it a one-point game over the next three minutes and then with under a minute to play they would get an and one by Sam Abere (Lake Oswego, OR), free-throws by Brown and Currey that moved the game into a tie at the break 41-41.   
 
Gordon sparked the offense early in the second half as he knocked down a triple putting the Bulldogs up one.   An 8-2 run by the Violets would put them on top 51-46.  But the Maroon and Grey would respond with six of the next eight points all coming from Currey.   At the 8:20 mark Currey sparked a big surge for the Bulldogs opening things up with six straight points, which included an and one and a triple.  Armstead kept the run going with another deep three-pointer and Currey would come back with another two layins inside.  Capping off the run Robert Power (Pacific Palisades, CA) would hit a long range three-pointer that put UR on top 72-64 with 4:50 remaining.   
 
This is where the Violets would call a timeout and talk things over before coming out to score nine of the next ten points, putting them on top 80-78 with :46 seconds remaining.  Currey would have a chance to tie things up at the charity stripe with :23 seconds left but would go 1-for-2.  Then after two made free-throws by NYU, the Bulldogs would come down and after a pair of missed free-throws would get final look for the tie coming from Josh Himel (Jacksonville, FL) dead on, but it would hit the back of the iron and stay out allowing the Violets to escape with the win. 
 
For the game Redlands shot 36% from the field, 36% from three-point territory and 46.2% from the free-throw line.  Currey led all scorers with a game high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, and five steals.  Abere had a solid night with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting with another nine boards, Armstead had another 11 points with a couple rebounds, Brown with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with two rebounds and Power would add nine points all coming on three-pointers.      
 
Redlands remains at home next Saturday, December 2 when they open up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play against California Lutheran University beginning at 2:00pm.  The last time these two teams met was in the 2023-23 SCIAC Tournament Final where CLU beat the Bulldogs to clinch the AQ to the NCAA Division III National Championships on a putback at the buzzer.